Game
by Adamant Eve aka anna-neko
Summary: When Red X plays, he plays for keeps.


Author's Note: This fic was written in response to the challenge Broken Mask and tulleskirt posted on the Robin and Starfire Shrine. They set the length at 500 to 1000 words. Somehow, I managed it (haha!) but this is the long version of that fic. While the one I submitted in the forum had been rated PG-13, this is the R-version.

The Challenge: Explore the one-sided relationship between Red X/Star. Did Red X really feel anything about Starfire? Or was he just playing around?

Game

_"You know, cutie. The only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a—"_

She hadn't even let me finish and she let me have it: a Tamaranian's version of a slap to the face. It had been a confounding blow. It shattered my focus. I had to lie still and consciously force myself to regroup.

After I gathered my senses, my mind began to fill with thoughts of her. I was _infuriated._ My first thought was that the _bitch_ had to be put in her place. The next thought was that putting her in her place would be a supremely satisfying exercise. The thought of subduing her--bending her to my will--sent tremors of excitement through me. If the exercise proved to be more difficult than I anticipated, it would only make the conquest all the more sweeter.

She wanted it, whether she knew it or not. _Someone_ was holding out on her and she'd had enough.

Those precious seconds I had uttered my taunt and touched her delicately with a mocking finger, she had _listened. _Never mind that she blasted me half-way across the room after it. After all, she had to keep up appearances. __

I'd wager my synovium that if I looked through her memories, I would find my words branded into her mind. She knew I wouldn't hold back on her; she knew I was all or nothing.

But then I had a purpose—a goal of sorts. There was little room for anything more than flippant jibes. Starfire was a distraction, so I set thoughts of her aside; until I did what I had to do.

Only after I collected the synovium did I let thoughts of her consume me. I had done what I needed to do; now I could play.

For weeks, I followed her; watched her from the shadows. I had the patience to wait and see, to give it the time it deserved. However, it didn't mean that the waiting didn't slowly eat at my sanity.

Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, but don't swallow. It was a tease all her own.

Those luscious amber strands that whipped through the air as she soared, turned, flipped or—quite simply—looked over her shoulder had a taunting quality of their own. It made me think of running my fingers through them one minute and then yanking them back with my fist, the next.

I have only gazed upon her green, alien eyes as they burned bright with outraged purity. She had looked at me, unable to move from the restraints I placed upon her, but she hadn't been helpless. Those bolts of light shooting from her emerald orbs knocked me off balance, but she hadn't killed me; she could have, but she didn't. The thought sent my blood racing.

Did she realize the beckoning quality of her allure? She could throw a line so subtly, and when someone took the bait (someone always did), she would yank the line back, as if she never intended to take home what she had caught in the first place; a veritable Estella in a world of great expectations. Her power was awesome.

And then the time came that I could watch and wait no longer. The time came for me to get what I wanted. It would be much easier than the synovium, and this time, I wasn't going to let Robin cramp my style.

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I stepped soundlessly into her room, the wind blowing through the open window. The darkness was lit by the unhampered light of the moon, blanketing the pinks and purples underneath a gray-blue veil.

I let my eyes travel to the bed, where she was supposed to be.

It had been slept in; the sheets and pillows evidently rumpled, but she wasn't there. I could have sworn she had been there a moment ago. I would not have gone in if she wasn't.

"Why is it you follow me?"

I took a second to orient myself to the direction in which the voice had come from. When I had pinpointed its source, I looked over my shoulder calmly and saw the vapor-like glow of her eyes, sinister against the dark. It thrilled me. "What's the matter, cutie? Never had a stalker before?"

I whipped around and let loose a charge, the X sailing through the air towards her. She dodged it with mesmerizing grace and I grinned, letting another X loose. She zipped in another direction and there was a flash of green. It caught me squarely on the chest and it knocked the breath out of me, sending me crashing to the wall. My vision blurred momentarily from the blow, but I found myself grinning. It was all going according to plan.

She was upon me, one hand clamped to my throat, the other to my wrist. My free hand moved to attack her, but her knee slammed against it, pinning it to the wall.

I hissed through my teeth; she was strong and her knee felt about as crushing as a medicine ball, but I could not help flashing a smirk.

Her scantily-clad body pressed against mine, I figured there were worse ways to be held. "You like being in control, don't you?"

Her glare sent shivers of anticipation lacing through me. "You know nothing about me."

"And how do you expect to call for help, holding me this way? The moment you let me go, I'll be on you so fast, you wouldn't even be able to scream. Not like anyone would hear you, anyway. If the walls weren't sound proof, your precious Robin would've been crashing through that door, already. No one has heard us, and it seems we've found ourselves in a bit of a stalemate. How _will_ we work this out?"

She looked angry, but she understood what I was trying to tell her. "What do you want from me?"

"Many things, but I didn't come here to tell you what _I _want; I came here to ask you what _you_ want."

"What I want is _none _of your concern."

"Really? You knew I was following you; watching you. Have you told anyone else about me? Have you told Robin?" She didn't reply and I chuckled. "Well, why didn't you? Did you like having this secret all to yourself?"

Her eyes glowed again, teeth bared menacingly. "You have nothing that I want."

"If you believed that, you would have knocked me unconscious by now."

Her grip on me loosened, and I found that my hands were free to glide up her arms. Her skin was enticingly soft. A powerful woman wrapped in such a comely package. I laughed softly, triumphant, but it was only a second later that I realized how much I had misjudged her. Did I think it she would make it that easy for me?

She had moved fast; too fast. Whether it was a star bolt that did me in or the sheer power behind her punch, I couldn't tell.

All I knew was I was suddenly spiraling into a dark, dreamless void.

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I opened my eyes and pain laced through my head, but I had enough of my wits about me to realize I was home.

A surprising outcome considering I was certain that I hadn't dreamed my attempt to seduce the beautiful Tamaranian girl.

I should be in a holding cell, possibly being beaten senseless by Robin who undoubtedly would not have taken kindly to the bastard who had tried to take his woman right from under his nose.

So those premises having been established, who had brought me home?

I chuckled as the obvious answer came to me: _She did. _

She knew where I lived. She had brought me home. The thought made me heady.

I knew then it wasn't over. I had set out on this mission thinking that I had complete control; that I was setting the rules, but Starfire had taken charge; had kicked it to another level and it was a challenge I was willing to take.

She was playing, just like I was, and best of all, the game had only just begun…

**End  
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Closing note: Think what you want. I know I will. Hehehe.

What a sexy sonofagun that Red X is.


End file.
